Alamein 66 years on, war, memory and what liberalism is about.

On these pages I frequently resort to historical lectures based on military anniversaries. This will probably continue until I run out, or else the committee of the Libertarian Alliance suggests to me that I’m boring the readers.

But this all hinges on how I try to expound the Gospel of libertarianism…I take past events when freedom and individual liberty were under threat from massively-resourced, highly-systematized State behemoths (truly, the ultimate enemy.) I show how their depredations were defeated by free coalitions of relatively un-tyrannised people – such as the British Empire (what else was there, for goodness’s sake?) Then, I try to explain that for libertarianism and freedom for individuals to survive, a strong watch needs to be kept on the surreptitious re-awakening of imperialist-Utopian creeds (such as socialism, and pre-capitalist quasi-religious survival-guides) and their baleful, faux-Christian, faux-charitable appeal to under-employed Western idealists of otherwise high intelligence.

It is accidental that many of these anniversaries fall in the Second World War: there is no anti-German, or anti-Japanese, intent about these on my part, for these otherwise good and decent and exemplarily-educated people fell under the spell of what Churchill presciently called “Perverted Science”.

They thus were catapulted into terrible misfortune, at the hands first of the criminally-tyrannical political imbeciles who first tormented them with false bribes, and then at the hands of those whose job it sadly was to clear up the mess.

Some others of course are to do with the First. Others, such as Trafalgar, relate to earlier episodes of what ultimately is the same, ongoing and Titanic struggle – between good and evil: which is in today’s theatre to say, Capitalism and freedom, versus State planning, socialism and tyranny.

(Click on the whole map, it will appear.)

Today is the anniversary of the start of the series of large actions in North Africa, know as the Battle of Alamein. Now, as is largely forgotten today, Rommel’s Afrika Korps had been substantially held up some weeks earlier by a well-designed defensive action atRuweisat and Mitereira Ridges. There is a highly biased and pro-socialist article about this on wikipedia, which I may re-edit soon. Later, at the battle of Alam Halfa, the Afrika Korps also got no further.

By late October, preps were all in place for the battle which is still remembered (by a few old men). I see this one as the Last Battle of the Old Empire, the free coalition which I have referred to earlier. Very roughly, is also stakes out a point in WW2 before which the Axis forces were advancing everywhere, and after which it was all downhill for them. Not strictly true in detail, but good enough for a snapshot.

If liberalism (and I mean it in the true sense of the word, not what American stalinists which call themselves “democrats” mean) is to survive, then we have to remember and learn how and why we liberals went to war, not just for ourselves but for others, such as Belgium and Poland. We don’t really go to war for ourselves – indeed the last time probably was 1793. If we do, such as against Iceland in the 1970s and today, then it’s probably because we were then (by Heath) and are now, led by socialists.

If there is ever such a thing as a libertarian nation, then as I have sadly predicted, it probably will have to go to war for itself.

And now, here’s the techie stuff…

Yes I know this on is just the Aussies charging their own field kitchen, but……

Better not forget the poor wretched Italians, whose hearts were probably not really in it:-

Piles of Italian footage on Youtube, and not much else. It’s not a problem but I wonder why we don’t remember it as well as they seem to do?